The World's Last Tribal Cultures 'Before They Pass Away'

Photographer Jimmy Nelson set out to search for the world's last indigenous cultures, with the goal to document these rapidly disappearing communities for future generations. "I didn't start this project anticipating that I could stop the world from changing," he said. "I purely wanted to create a visual document that reminds us and generations to come of how beautiful the human world once was."

Courtesy Jimmy Nelson

Photographer Jimmy Nelson set out to search for the world's last indigenous cultures, with the goal to document these rapidly disappearing communities for future generations. "I didn't start this project anticipating that I could stop the world from changing," he said. "I purely wanted to create a visual document that reminds us and generations to come of how beautiful the human world once was."

Courtesy Jimmy Nelson

The long and intriguing story of the origin of the indigenous Maori people can be traced back to the 13th century, the mythical homeland Hawaiki, Eastern Polynesia. Because of centuries of isolation, the Maori established a distinct society with characteristic art, a separate language and unique mythology.

Courtesy Jimmy Nelson

The Kazakhs are the descendants of Turkic, Mongolic and Indo-Iranian tribes and Huns that populated the territory between Siberia and the Black Sea. They are a semi-nomadic people and have roamed the mountains and valleys of western Mongolia with their herds since the 19th century.

Courtesy Jimmy Nelson

The Omo Valley, situated in Africa's Great Rift Valley, is home to an estimated 200,000 tribal people who have lived there for millennia. Among them are 1,000 to 3,000 Karo who dwell on the eastern banks of the Omo river and practice flood-retreat cultivation, growing sorghum, maize and beans.

Courtesy Jimmy Nelson

It is believed that the first Papua New Guineans migrated to the island more than 45,000 years ago. Today, more than 3 million people, half of the heterogeneous population, live in the highlands. Some of these communities have engaged in low-scale tribal conflict with their neighbors for millennia.

Courtesy Jimmy Nelson

The Himba are an ancient tribe of tall, slender and statuesque herders. Since the 16th century they have lived in scattered settlements, leading a life that has remained unchanged, surviving war and droughts. The tribal structure helps them live in one of the most extreme environments on earth.

Courtesy Jimmy Nelson

The indigenous population of the world's second-largest island is one of the most heterogeneous in the world. The harsh terrain and historic inter-tribal warfare has lead to village isolation and the proliferation of distinct languages. A number of different tribes are scattered across the highland plateau.

Courtesy Jimmy Nelson

The ancient Arctic Chukchi live on the peninsula of the Chukotka. Unlike other native groups of Siberia, they have never been conquered by Russian troops. Their environment and traditional culture endured destruction under Soviet rule, by weapons testing and pollution.